When Games Get Serious
by FireTaiga
Summary: An innocent game of strip poker ends with a confession-Zutara
1. Chapter 1

I am taking a leaf out of a fellow writer's book and revising some of my earlier stuff. I am not in love with what I wrote before and feel that at this point I have more time to dedicate to making something actually worth reading. So please review and let me know what you think of When Games Get Serious 2.0.

This story takes place when the group is at the Air Temple after the Eclipse. They have accepted Zuko into their group already and have yet to be attacked by Azula.

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"I'm tired." Suki let out a yawn, stretching her arms. It was almost ten at night at the group was still sitting around the campfire. No one wanted to retreat to their rooms yet. The air temple was a beautiful place, but drafty and their rooms had a tendency to get very cold. The fire Zuko had started from some dry branches was blessed relief.

"I'm bored." Toph whined loudly, stomping her foot and sending pebbles scattering. She had been pacing back and forth by one of the many benches lining the room they were in. Despite being one of the laziest members of the group, rivaling Sokka in her ability to sleep, she was restless from boredom and the chill in the air.

"I'm Sokka!" Sokka leaped up from his laying position, holding his arms wide. A huge grin crossed his face as he waited for the never present laughter. "Huh huh! Get it?"

"Wow. That was bad even for you Sokka." Zuko lifted the hand that was covering his eyes, staring incredulously at Sokka. Even though he had only been with the group for a little while, Zuko was easy to integrate in with the original gang. He had been rather quiet and reserved until recently. This was in fact the first time he had joined them at night.

"Oh come one. You have to admit that was a little funny." Sokka flopped back onto the ground next to Suki, throwing an arm around her shoulders. He looked hopefully up at his girlfriend. Suki smiled weakly.

"No Sokka it really wasn't." Katara shook her head at her older brother, letting the water she had been bending fall back into the bowl. She had taken to practicing more offensive maneuvers as of late, going so far as to ask Zuko for a fuel every now and again. "But I have to agree with Toph. I am really bored too. Now that we aren't constantly being stalked by some crazy firebender, it's easy to get bored."

"Hey! I wasn't crazy. Was I?" Zuko sat up quickly, concern flashing in his eyes. He knew he had some family issues but Azula was the crazy one.

"She has a point there Zuko." Aang joined the conversation, moving Momo's ear off of his eyes. The flying lemur had sprawled himself stomach up on the Avatar's bald head, ears covering his eyes. "You were rather fanatical about catching me."

"Yeah well. You would have been too." Zuko threw his arm back over his face as he laid back on the ground, huffing in annoyance. He already knew it was pointless to try and explain himself to this group. He had tried and failed on multiple occasions. The Fire Lord was nothing but evil to them, but to Zuko he was a father.

"Hey! I have an idea! Let's play a card game!" Suki grabbed her pack and rummaged through it, eventually pulling out a stack of cards. "I won these in a poker game off of a traveler when me and the girls were stationed at the ferries. We should play poker now!"

Sokka grabbed the cards from the warrior, staring at them suspiciously. He flipped through the deck as if looking for something that shouldn't be there

"I don't know…"He mumbled as he examined a king of fire rather closely.

"What, afraid of losing to a girl again?" Suki playfully punched Sokka on the arm, clearly eager to get the game started. "So who wants to play?"

Sokka's protests were drown out by a chorus of cheers from the group.

"I'm in." Katara rolled onto her stomach, excitement dancing in her blue eyes.

"Sure." Zuko followed suit, nothing dancing in his eyes except slight boredom.

"I've never played poker before. As a monk, it is against my moral code to gamble." Aang folded his hands and closed his eyes solemnly. "But I guess the monks would make an exception just this once!" Aang immediately transformed back into the goofy twelve year old, a huge grin splitting his face. Momo grumbled angrily that his resting spot was moving and took off the sleep on Appa instead. The flying bison was resting near the group.

"Uh…I'm blind. So unless those cards have raised symbols or something, I'm out." Toph blew her bangs off her face, clearly frustrated that everyone had failed to remember this little fact.

"Don't worry Toph. When I joined the group I figured this would happen. I had Sokka customize the deck so you can play too!" Suki started to deal the cards out. "He raised the symbols on them so that you can feel the symbols instead of having to see them."

"Wait. We need to make this more interesting." Zuko held up a hand as he looked down at his cards. "We don't really have anything to trade since anything of value is shared. So…strip poker anyone?"

Silence greeted his suggestion. Five pairs of eyes stared widely back at him. Zuko swore he could hear a cricket-moth chirping somewhere in the temple.

"Or not." He mumbled, staring back down at his hand.

Immediately the entire group burst into heated arguments. It became clear everyone did want to play strip poker as the arguments dissolved into agreements and laughter. Aang was eyeing Katara, and Sokka already had a hand on Suki's shoulder. Toph just shrugged.

"Strip poker it is then." Zuko smirked. He was an ace at strip poker.

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Let me know what you think and if I should continue with revisions. Thanks for the reviews! ;D


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on Zuko! Don't be a sore loser!"

"Shut up Katara. Just because you haven't had to strip down almost completely doesn't mean you can mock everyone who has had to."

"Meaning just you?" The gang laughed hysterically as Katara mocked Zuko's lack of clothes.

The ace of strip poker was now down to his last piece of clothing while everyone else was still sporadically clothed. Katara had on her pants and breast bindings, Aang his pants and a shoe, Sokka was still fully clothed. Much to Sokka's dismay Suki was the next scantily clad, wearing only her villages equivalent of breast bindings and the tight wrappings from her waist to thighs. Toph was the only one still fully clothed, having been able to sense when everyone was cheating.

"Don't laugh too hard. The games not over yet." Zuko hunkered down behind his cards. He wasn't embarrassed to be wearing so little. He was used to be stared at because of the scar on his face. It was a pleasant change to have Katara and Suki glancing at him for entirely different reasons. The tattoo on his back had surprised them all when he had removed his shirt. The large phoenix was a gift from his Uncle.

As the game continued the pile of clothes in the center of the circle grew larger and larger. Katara was down to only her bindings. Suki had been forced to shed her lower bindings and a blanket covered her lower half. Aang had followed suit when he lost all of his clothes, using Sokka's blanket to keep himself covered. Sokka himself was still mostly clothed, and Toph was fully clothed. Despite being told not to cheat, she had done it anyway.

"I'm bored again. You guys are too easy to beat. I'm going to bed." Toph stood up, tossing her cards onto the clothes in the middle of the circle. She stormed off, disappearing through the door that led down the hallway to their bedrooms.

"You know, I think I am going to go to bed too." Suki slowly placed her cards on the ground in front of her, grabbing her clothes. She kept her blanket around her waist with one hand and not so subtly kicked Sokka. She walked quickly away, pausing at the door frame to wink at Sokka one last time before disappearing.

"Yeah…bed…" Sokka jumped up and ran after Suki, his footsteps thundering down the stone hallway and out of earshot.

"I guess that just leaves us three then." Katara shook her head at her idiot brother. No man could touch her without getting a boomerang to the face, but Sokka was allowed to run amok. His hypocrisy knew no ends sometimes.

"Actually I think I'm done. I'm not really wearing any clothes anyway." Aang laughed nervously. Seeing that no one was joining him, Aang cleared his throat and stood; wrapping the blanket around himself he walked nervously towards the door. "Don't be up too late. Okay Katara?" Aang glared quickly at Zuko before disappearing into the hallway, closely followed by Momo.

"I guess it's down to you and me Katara. Think you can handle it?" Zuko asked with a rakish smirk.

"I wouldn't be worrying so much about me there Zuko." Katara glared playfully at Zuko. "Seeing as we both have one piece of clothing left, the next hand wins. And I fully intend on being the winner."

"Want to make it more interesting?" Zuko asked, setting down the cards he had been shuffling to prepare for the next hand.

"Interesting? What did you have in mind?" Katara perked up at the idea of another facet to the game. Strip poker was fun but wasn't as fun as strip poker and another twist.

"Give me a second." Zuko stood, still wearing only his undergarment. Katara couldn't help but notice the muscles in his chest and arm flexing as he pushed himself up. She watched as the banished prince walked quietly into the hallway, clearly not wanting to alert anyone to his presence. The wings of the phoenix on his back seemed to flap in flight as Zuko's shoulders moved. Katara still couldn't believe that Zuko had such a large tattoo, but was unsurprised that it was a fire bird.

Pulling her thoughts away from Zuko, Katara rolled on her back, bending the water from a nearby jug into sparkling drops above her. The pretty droplets reflected the light from the dying fire, leaving a rainbow pattern across the stone floor. After about twenty minutes, Katara rolled onto her back, bending the droplets into one large waterball between her hands. She was starting to think Zuko wasn't coming back.

"Ready?"

Katara gasped in surprise. The water ball fell from between her hands and splashed her in the face. She was absolutely soaked, her white bindings absorbing the water completely. Katara self-consciously covered herself up; white clothes and water were never a good mix.

Zuko was looking down at her intently. He didn't even try to hide the smirk on his face. "Cute bending Katara. Get a little wet?" He teased.

"Very funny hothead. So…what did you get?" Katara asked as she sat up, grabbing a blanket and draping it over her shoulders.

"Firewhiskey." Zuko held up a rather sizeable bottle of the drink. The bottle was untapped, full of fresh, very expensive looking firewhiskey.

"Woah. Where did you get that?" Katara asked, standing and grabbing the bottle. She hadn't had a drink before, but she had always been curious.

"I brought it with me. I wasn't sure I would be able to stand all of you griping all the time and assumed I would need a drink every now and then. Your little airbending leader wouldn't be too keen on that though." Zuko sat back down, reshuffling the deck of cards. He was clearly annoyed with Aang's moral code but tolerated it as required.

Katara continued to inspect the bottle. Finding no obvious flaws or tampering, she looked back up at Zuko. "So every time someone loses a hand, they either lose their clothes or take a drink?" Katara asked, slowly lowering herself down to the ground.

"Correct." Zuko dealt out the necessary cards. "Ready to get smashed Katara? There's no way you are going to win this one."

"Don't be so cocky underwear boy." Katara smirked, picking up her cards. There was no way Zuko would win this round.


	3. Chapter 3

"You were so crazy! Seriously Zuko you were pewing at us all the time!" Katara burst into loud laughter, holding her sides and rolling around on the ground. She was seriously plastered having never drunk before. For some reason she kept coming back to calling Zuko crazy and trying to justify her thinking.

"Katara you're drunk." Zuko slurred slightly, trying to take another pull from the bottle of firewhiskey. He was disappointed to find that the bottle was empty. "No more. SO much for drinking away your group's whining." He rolled the empty bottle away, flopping back onto his back.

"Zuko. I'm not drunk. You are. Plus they aren't my group they are our group." Katara used her arms to scoot herself closer to Zuko, poking him in the chest.

Not as intoxicated as Katara, Zuko laughed. He had never seen her let loose so much. Even her hair loopies were out. It was so late it was almost early and she wasn't nagging him to get to sleep as she would have on any normal day.

"No Katara. You really are drunk. Let's get you to bed. Come on." Zuko stood, pulling Katara up with him. He had been drunk with girls enough times to know when enough was enough. The waterbender leaned heavily against Zuko as he pulled her to the hall, unable to walk on her own.

Leaning on the wall just as heavily as Katara was leaning on him, Zuko felt his way down the wall. He quietly dipped into Katara's room and dropped her on her bed. Katara erupted in crazy giggles as he pulled her arms off of him and shushed her.

"Go to sleep Katara." Zuko pushed her back down to the bed. He stroked her bare shoulder with his thumb as she snuggled under the covers. "Good night." Trying not to wake the drunken woman up, he quietly made his way back out.

"Wait." Katara's voice danced through the darkness, stopping Zuko. "Don't leave. It's cold."

Zuko looked back at Katara, confused. He could see her curled up under her blanket, shivering slightly. Glancing into the hallway, Zuko pulled the tattered curtain across the door before moving back to the bed.

"I'm here Katara." Zuko put his hand on Katara's forehead, using his inner heat to warm her. That was perhaps his favorite part of being a firebender. The little flame that danced inside of his chest at all times never let him feel the cold.

Katara sighed happily, snuggling closer to Zuko's warmth. "Lay down." She commanded. Even though she was warmer than before, she wanted to be completely warm.

"What?" Zuko was confused. A week ago she wanted to kill him, not she wanted him in bed with her? He partially hoped it was just the whiskey. It was hard to ignore the tiny bit of him wanting to curl up next to her and hold her close.

"Lay down. Please. You're so warm." Katara's hand grabbed Zuko's wrist, pulling his hand down over her cheek. She sighed in happiness as her cheek warmed.

Sighing, the banished prince climbed over Katara and lay between her and the wall. She pushed herself closer to him so they were back to front. Zuko wasn't sure what to think at this point. Sokka would kill him if he ever found out about this.

"Zuko. I've got a secret I should tell you." Katara still slurred her words a bit, nearing sleep.

"What is it Katara." Zuko gently whispered in her ear, careful not to let the light stubble on his chin scratch her.

"I always liked you Zuko. More than I ever should have. Everything about you is all fire and passion. You're very attractive and so warm. Aang has never looked at me with fire in his eyes. Watching you bend is amazing. You're so graceful and strong. I wish I could bend just like you."

Zuko stiffened. Of everything she could have said, that was the last thing he expected. The words were mumbled and took a long time to get out, but the intention was clear; Katara had been carrying around a flame of her own for Zuko.

"Good night Zuko." Katara yawned once, snuggling closer to the fire prince's chest. She dropped off to sleep almost immediately afterwards, his warmth lulling her to dreams.

"Good night Katara." Zuko mumbled back. He decided to ignore what she had said and deal with it in the morning. For now, he was exhausted.


	4. Chapter 4

Zuko woke up with a yawn, stretching his arms over his head. He immediately regretted opening his eyes to the sun—he was clearly hung over. The previous night was a little fuzzy. He remembered playing strip poker and walking Katara to her room. He couldn't remember walking to his own room though.

Shivering a bit in the cold, Zuko concentrated on the fire within. He made it flare brighter, warming his body. A contented sigh echoed in the darkness of the room. Zuko stiffened in surprise. Someone was in his bed and he couldn't remember who.

Reaching a hand out in the darkness, Zuko traced a feminine body, resting on the curve of the woman's hips. Moving his hand up, he met an elbow and moved his hand onto the arm it was attached to. He continued to see with his hands, feeling long, tousled hair. And…hair loopies? Katara!

Zuko gasped and pressed himself against the wall. The memories from the night before rushed back. He saw himself climbing into bed with Katara, and he heard her voice telling him she had always liked him. Heard her calling him passionate and attractive. He had to get out of here before she woke up.

Katara stirred, wrenching Zuko from his memories and stopping him from fleeing. The waterbender groaned in pain, her own hangover hitting her with all of its strength. Zuko put a hand back on her forehead in order to calm her hangover and hopefully get her back to sleep

"Zuko?" Katara murmured. She was still groggy from sleep and was trying to figure out if what had happened last night was real.

"I'm here Katara. I'm right here." Zuko whispered in Katara's ear, not sure why he was acting as he was, but sure he wanted to. He knew that he should get up and leave and not whisper in her ear like they were in love. He should leave.

"What happened last night?" She asked, opening her eyes to look up at Zuko in the newly dawning light.

"We played strip poker. Once everyone else left, we drank an entire bottle of firewhiskey between the two of us. I tried to bring you back here to go to bed and you wouldn't let me leave. I stayed and tried to help you sleep like you asked. You told me that you liked me and found me attractive." Zuko recapped the previous evening for her, sitting up against the wall as he did so. Katara pulled herself into a sitting position next to him, their arms barely touching.

"I-I did?" Katara asked him horror. She had told herself she would never express her true feelings to Zuko. It would make things too complicated. She also couldn't believe she was so drunk. It was her first time drinking and she let herself co completely.

"You did. Among other things." Zuko smirked at Katara, a teasing look in his eyes.

"Other things like what?" Katara asked.

"Well…you think I am attractive and passionate. You like my bending and find it graceful. You wish you could bend like me." Zuko nudged her lightly with his arm, his eyes still full of the teasing look.

"Oh spirits I didn't." Katara put her face in her hands, mortified. "I'm so sorry Zuko!"

"Don't worry about it Katara. You were absolutely smashed." Zuko smiled down at her half hoping she would admit she had been telling the truth.

"Thanks Zuko." Katara put her head on the banished prince's shoulder, glad she could avoid telling him her true feelings at least for the moment. "I must have just been talking crazy."

The sun moved in its upward path, shining straight through the open window.

"Ugh it's so bright!" Katara clapped a hand over her eyes, her hangover not treating her well at all. It was her first one and she was not handling it well.

"Do you trust me?" Zuko asked, standing and holding a hand out to Katara. He tried to maneuver himself to stand between her and the sunlight.

"Forever." She whispered, standing and grabbing his hand. She was so focused on how rough they were from working and living alone that she barely noticed the pounding behind her eyes.

Zuko pulled her up, ripping a strip of cloth from Katara's blanket when she was on her feet. He hushed her protests with a look and tied the cloth over her eyes, blocking out the light. Picking up Katara, the firebender ducked out the door.

Glancing up and down the hallway, he saw that everyone was still in their rooms with the curtains drawn. Next door, he could hear Haru snoring. It must have been early to keep even Suki and Aang asleep. Usually they were up practicing or meditating respectively.

Carrying Katara down the hallway and into the main chamber, Zuko walked quickly around a corner and down a rocky path of rubble he had constructed. He had followed the path weeks ago but had only made it entirely passable recently. It had been his secret place for a long time, but he owed it to Katara to share it with her.

Hanging a sharp left at the end of the rubble path, Zuko shouldered through a curtain of vines. The long green cords fell back together with light slaps that blocked the light and sound out. He set Katara down on a bench, removing the cloth from her eyes.

"So what do you think?" He asked her nervously. This had been his place for so long that he was growing fond of it.

Katara gasped. She was in a spacious room, almost as large as the hall where they ate and spent most of their time. One side of the room had been invaded by fallen rubble. The other sides were covered in ivy and other plant life, muffling the glare from the sun. The effect was an eerie, greenish light that pervaded throughout the entire room. The only entrance was the small door Zuko had used, the former door having caved in. On the far side of the room, a few stones were stacked, creating two small tubs. Only one of the tubs had water in it; the other was cracked beyond repair except by an earthbender.

Zuko had clearly been fixing up the room. A chair of sorts had been constructed from a few rocks covered in moss and a blanket. A small hole in the leaves let in enough light to read a scroll and relax.

"Zuko! This is beautiful!" Katara stood, walking to the center of the room and turning to take it all in. "Why didn't we find this room?"

"The door is caved in so Haru and the others would not have found it. And the plants made it look like there was nothing here. I was exploring one day and discovered it. I can warm the bath over there. It's a good way to relieve stress. And I thought it might help with our hangovers." Zuko rubbed the back of his neck. He had wanted to bathe on his own but knew that Katara needed the relief as much as he did.

"Wow. Thanks Zuko." Katara walked over to the pool and dipped her fingers into the still water. It was absolutely freezing. She was thankful Zuko could warm the pool as it would save them both from certain hypothermia. Katara stepped onto a rock by the edge of the pool and dropped into the icy tub. She was used to a cold bath having lived in a winter wasteland most of her life but this was something else entirely.

Zuko quickly followed suit, eager to get the water warmed. From the pinched look on Katara's face it was far too cold to be bearable. He immediately turned his internal heat as high as was safe and released the warmth into the environment around him. The water warmed quickly, steam rising off in layers.

Katara She sighed at the warmth. It was wonderful to be out of the cold. She could already feel her headache subsiding and the hangover faded into a bad memory. It was then that she realized she had her hand on Zuko's muscular forearm and was stroking it with her fingertips.

"Um..sorry." She mumbled, tucking her hands into her lap and looking away.

"It's alright Katara. But can I ask you something?" She could feel Zuko's golden eyes looking at her face but refused to return the gaze, far too embarrassed.

"Of course Zuko." She said, lifting her hands the bend the water between them. She needed a distraction from this awkward situation.

"Do you love me?"


	5. Chapter 5

So very excited that I am finishing this up so quickly. I have had so much extra time to write that I am having no troubles getting everything updated. Enjoy this next chapter!

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Katara froze. She had imagined Zuko asking her that before, but she never thought it would actually happen. Last night had been a drunken mistake. She thought she had been in the clear. Didn't he shrug it off and say she was just overly drunk?

"Um…why do you ask?" She asked as she shifted nervously, continuing to bend small whirpools into the water before her. The waterbender made a point not to look at Zuko when she talked, afraid of what she might see and even more afraid of what he might see.

"I'm just curious. Last night you did confess, in length, how you liked me so much better than Aang." Zuko sounded a bit hurt from her lack of an answer. "I guess I just wanted to understand what that was all about." Did he want her to say yes?

"I thought you said I was drunk. Don't people say things that don't make sense when they are drunk?" Katara blurted out, immediately regretting it. She was digging herself a huge hole. It was completely obvious that she was trying to dodge his question.

"Well…that excuses why you said it, not what you said. Just because you were drunk doesn't mean you were making up feelings. It just meant you were voicing what you had been too afraid to say before." Zuko said carefully, seeming afraid to finish talking. He had clearly gotten that speech from his own experiences, lowering his eyes as he gave it.

"I'm sorry Zuko. I never should have said those things. Now if you'll excuse me." Katara stepped out of the pool, goose bumps rising on her arms where it touched the colder air. She had to get out of this room. It was suddenly too small. She had to get to some water that he wasn't in and now.

"Katara, wait!" She heard Zuko clamber out of the pool after her, but didn't turn back. She didn't stop until Zuko grabbed her arm and twisted her around to face him.

"There's a reason I asked Katara. Please don't go." Zuko broke off nervously, not meeting her eyes anymore. It was his turn to be anxious.

"Why Zuko? Why did you have to ask if I loved you?" The waterbender almost pleaded with the banished prince. He was complicating everything!

"Because I love you Katara." Zuko finally met her eyes, their golden depths filled with longing. How had she never noticed before? "For some reason ever since that day in the cave I can't get you out of my head. You were supposed to hate me but you wanted to heal me. I can never ask you to forgive me for what I've done but I needed you to know."

Before she could reply, Zuko grabbed Katara's upper arms and pulled her towards him. He kissed her passionately, so unlike the tentative kisses Aang had tried to give her. He moved his hands down to her waist, not letting up. His tongue traced her lip, coaxing her to open her mouth and enjoy this with him.

Giving in to emotion, Katara lifted her arms to Zuko's neck. She kissed him back with equal fervor. She had been waiting so long to kiss him; it was so surreal that in this magical room, they finally were. He tasted so good. If fire could be tasted than this is what the flavor would be.

When the kiss finally ended, Zuko hovered near Katara's lips. He never wanted to stop kissing her. His dead-eyed girlfriend Mai had never been able to kiss with so much life. Even though he wasn't supposed to love a waterbender, especially not this waterbender, he loved kissing her.

"Sorry." He mumbled when he saw Katara's face. Her eyes were filling with tears. He dropped his arms from her waist and waited for her to take hers from his neck. "I shouldn't have done that."

"No no! It's not that. It's just…I've been waiting to kiss you for so long and now that I am it doesn't feel anything like I thought it would." Katara closed her eyes, one tear rolling down her cheek.

Zuko's shoulders sagged. He had put all of himself into that kiss, and she hadn't felt anything. He closed his eyes, the frustration visible on his face. At least now he had closure and knew that nothing could ever happen for sure.

Suddenly, Katara was standing on tiptoes, her mouth near his ear. "It was better."

"What?" Zuko asked. Confused her pulled away from Katara and looked her in the eyes. They were so beautiful and deep.

"Kissing you was better than I had ever dreamt, ever imagined it would be." Katara elaborated, a smile playing at her lips. "I couldn't imagine anything more wonderful."

"Oh Katara." Zuko wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her close for another kiss. He couldn't get enough of his waterbender. Everything about her was entrancing. Her blue eyes, her dark skin, and the flow and grace of her bending. She was everything he was not; everything he had always wanted to be.

Katara couldn't believe she was kissing Zuko again. Overjoyed, she tightened her grip on his neck. She couldn't get enough of the firebender. Everything about him was entrancing. His golden eyes, his pale skin, and the power and ferocity of his bending. He was everything she was not; everything she had always wanted to be.

"Zuko." Katara whispered between kisses.

"Yes Katara?" He asked, letting his kisses travel up and down her neck. Her skin was so smooth and aromatic. It reminded him of the lilies his mother used to love.

"Yes. I do love you." Katara's voice wavered as she finally professed one of the strongest emotions she had ever felt. Love was like nothing she had ever known.


	6. Chapter 6

Zuko moved his mouth away from Katara's neck, looking deeply into her eyes. He held her closer, her body fitting against his own perfectly.

"I've dreamt of you saying that for weeks Katara." Zuko loosened his hold on her, gently pushing a strand of her loose hair off her face. It looked beautiful falling down her back in waves. "I never thought that you would though. I thought you were going to be with Aang. Everyone did."

"Aang is like Sokka to me Zuko. He wants to try to make it work but it just can't. He's not passionate enough. He doesn't have the same fire as you do. When I watch you bend together, you have this heat and intensity. Aang seems to just…fizzle next to you. And he's so young." Katara smiled up at her new love as she reassured him of her feelings.

Putting a hand on Zuko's scar, Katara stared deeply into his eyes. The pair held onto each other, refusing to move. Everything about the moment was perfect. The setting, the person they were with, and the day had been amazing so far. The skin beneath her hand was puckered and raw but failed to detract from Zuko's beauty.

"Say it again Katara." Zuko whispered, smiling down at her. He couldn't get enough of it.

"I love you Zuko. I didn't even think of that way until we left Ba Sing Se. After I escaped the caves with Aang I found myself worrying more about you than about him. I cannot imagine living this war without you by my side." Katara whispered to the banished prince, the pure joy in his eyes making her heart soar.

"It's about time you two got together." Katara and Zuko shot apart in surprise. Staring in shock at the entrance to the previously secret room, the new couple was greeted by the sight of Toph leaning casually against the doorframe.

"I don't know what you're talking about Toph." Zuko said coldly, glancing over at Katara and glad for once that Toph couldn't see.

"Oh please Sparky. Don't even try. I may be blind but I'm not stupid. I can tell what was going on down here. And last night. And every time you two get in the room together. Your hearts start racing. Everyone but Aang knows that something is going on. But I didn't come down here to berate you. We want breakfast. Come on Sweetness. I'm starving." Toph turned on a heel, the sound of her bending the earth to get back upstairs radiating throughout the room.

Katara and Zuko stood in shocked silence, Toph's sudden disappearance leaving the two drowning in confusion. They had been hoping to stay alone and secretive for a little while longer. Her arrival was a wrinkle in their day.

"I guess I should go make breakfast then." Katara said quietly. Walking towards the door, she glanced back at Zuko. "Are you coming?" She asked, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"I'll be right there Katara." Zuko replied quietly, still standing in the center of the room. "My robe should be on that bench by the door. You can put it on before you leave."

"Thank you Zuko. I'll see you upstairs." Katara exited the room quickly with the ruby and gold robe dragging behind her, her footsteps slapping on the rocks until she reached the dining hall directly above the banished prince.

Sighing, Zuko rubbed the back of his neck, closing his eyes tight against the green light of his makeshift spa room. As overjoyed as he was that Katara was finally his, it was overwhelming. Everything was going to change now.

Dropping his hand, Zuko took a deep breath. The breath calmed the fire blazing deep in his chest. Immediately he could feel himself centering again. Steeling himself, the bending master exited his private room, ready to greet the new day.

"Katara! Where have you been?" Aang demanded the second Katara walked into view. The airbender shot over to her, the wind around him blowing her untidy hair around her shoulders. She held the borrowed robe tighter around herself, worried that the gust would blow it open and reveal her scantily clad nature.

"I was nowhere of your concern Aang. But thank you for asking." Katara raised an eyebrow at Aang's intrusive question. Where she had been was none of his business and she intended on making that clear. If things were ever going to be normal in the group he had to get over his crush.

"Well…good." Aang huffed in slight irritation and confusion, turning and walking solemnly back to the fire he had started in the center of the chamber. Momo chattered at him as he bent leaves into the air for the lemur to catch.

"What's for breakfast?" Zuko asked, appearing in the doorway behind Katara. He had no coverings since Katara had taken his robe and was dressed in only his pants.

"Hey! Where's your robe Zuko?" Sokka asked, mouth full of seal jerky. Sometimes he had no manners whatsoever.

"On your sister. Where are your manners Sokka?" Zuko shot back, sitting down next to the fire. Growing up in the palace had left Zuko with some sense of refinement. For example he didn't enjoy watching Sokka chew up seal jerky.

"On my sister? Why is your robe on my sister? Katara what's going on?" Sokka asked, anger suddenly permeating his voice. He did not like the idea of his sister naked with anyone.

"I was cold and he was being a gentleman. Now what do you want for breakfast?" Katara quickly tried to divert attention away from her and Zuko, not ready for everyone to know what had happened in the past few hours.

Successfully distracted by the thought of food, Sokka turned his attention away from Zuko. Internally sighing, Katara glanced up at her new man. The panic was clear in both of their eyes. As ecstatic as they were to finally be together, neither wanted the complication of telling everyone yet.

It would be their little secret for now.


	7. Chapter 7

Last chapter! Even though this is still a remarkably short story it is longer than it was before. My hope was to flesh out the characters and put a little more meat on the bones of this skins-and-bones tale. Let me know if you read the first version and let me know what you think of this version.

* * *

"Good breakfast Katara. One of your best." Sokka sighed in content, leaning back to lay in Suki's lap. He patted his full stomach releasing a well timed burp. "Aaahh….excuse me." Suki giggled as Sokka lounged against her.

Katara smiled in response, glad that the hasty breakfast had been met with approval. "Thank you Sokka." Katara leaned back on her palms. She had finished her breakfast before everyone else had woken up like normal. She was used to being the mother in the group so eating early was routine by now. "So what's on the agenda for today?"

"Earthbending." Toph interjected before Zuko could open his mouth. "Twinkle Toes needs to practice his Earthbending. I got dibs on him until tomorrow."

"Well I guess I'm Earthbending then. What about you Sokka? Suki?" Aang flopped onto his back, clearly not excited about the beating he was going to receive today. At least with firebending he wasn't left bruised and battered at the end of practice.

"Sokka and I were going to have a day to ourselves down by the river. If that's all right with the both of you that is." Suki directed the last part at Katara and Zuko, knowing that Sokka and herself leaving would force the pair to be alone for the day.

"Yes that should be fine. If you all leave your dirty clothes and blankets out here I can get them washed for you." Katara looked out of the corner of her eye at Zuko. This day was just getting better and better. She couldn't wait to spend the remainder of it with Zuko even if she did have to do laundry

* * *

"I definitely did not agree to this." Zuko's face was wrinkled in disgust, a soiled undergarment dangling between two fingers. He was pretty sure that it belonged to Sokka and had no desire to touch it more than was required.

"Oh come on Zuko. It's not that bad." Katara gave her new love a light shove, smiling at him as she did. "I used to have to do everyone's clothes alone. You think I wanted to touch your dirty clothes? At least now I have you as my happy helper." Katara planted a quick kiss on Zuko's shoulder before stepping lightly to the riverbank to set down her basket of wet clothes.

Zuko followed closely, the soiled undergarment on the top of his basket of dirty clothes. He had yet to wash that most of the items in his basket, in particular that one item of clothing on top.

"How about you wash, and I dry?" Zuko asked, wrapping his strong arms around Katara's waist. He buried his face in her neck, kissing and nibbling the sway of her neck lightly. Shivering in pleasure, Katara turned to face her firebender. She ran her fingers over his bare chest and arms, marveling at the strength in them. She could feel the heat radiating from his core.

"Sounds good to me handsome." Katara whispered the words into Zuko's lips, ending with a passionate kiss. It felt fantastic to be out in the open kissing and touching the man she loved. A day alone was exactly what they had needed. Hopefully it would give them the courage to tell the others what had happened between them.

Disentangling herself from Zuko's embrace, Katara grabbed the basket of dirty clothes and waded out to the middle of the river. Bending a column of ice next to her to rest the basket on, Katara set to her task. Secretly, Katara loved washing clothes. Her bending made the task quick and enjoyable. It gave Katara great pleasure to know that she was now powerful enough to push water through the fibers of the clothes and blankets fast enough to clean and not cut.

Unbeknownst to her, Zuko was watching Katara from the bank, completely captivated by her graceful bending. He loved her so much it was painful. He had never seen someone so beautiful. His relationship with Mai was nothing compared to the feelings he had for Katara.

Remembering his promise to dry the clothes for Katara, Zuko turned his back to his beautiful waterbender. Seating himself on a clean patch of grass, Zuko set to work using his own bending to dry the clothes. It was a monotonous task but the time passed quickly.

Finishing his basket, Zuko looked up for Katara at the exact moment she turned to look at him. Their faces broke into matching smiles. Katara quickly made her way back to her prince, her sopping basket of clothes in her arms. Setting the basket down gently she launched herself at Zuko, tackling him. The firebender let out a shout of surprise, laughing as his waterbender attacked him with kisses.

"Katara! Katara stop! The clothes are still all wet!" Zuko grabbed Katara's forearms, pushing her away from him. The playful glint in Katara's eye was something Zuko hadnever seen before. It was kind of a turn on.

"Oh Zuko. Always so single-minded." Katara sat up quickly. With one swift sweep of her arms, a mass of water shot out of the baskets and into the air. Dropping the globule into the river, Katara turned with a smirk back to Zuko. "All done."

"You know there really is no reason for me to be here." Zuko huffed, a little irritated that he had been so unnecessary. She could have saved him the trouble of having to touch all the dirty clothes. And Sokka's undergarments.

"Yes there is! Heavy lifting!" Katara pointed at the baskets of clothes and blankets. "We need to get back and fold all of that. Afterwards, I have plans for you." Katara bit her lip slightly, eager for her evening plans to ensue.

Equally as excited to see what his bender had in store, Zuko shot up like a rocket, grabbing the baskets and bolting back to the air temple. Katara walked after him, laughing at his ridiculous behavior.

"So now what?" Zuko asked, dropping the last folded shirt into the basket next to him. It had taken awhile to get everything washed and folded with the large amount of people in the group

"Now we redress your bed. Your blankets were washed as well." Katara poked Zuko's nose lightly, standing and holding his blankets in her arms. She headed down the hall towards his room, knowing that he would follow.

Shoving aside the dark red cape that served as Zuko's door, Katara dropped his freshly laundered blankets onto the little bed in the corner. The bed was made in mere seconds as it comprised of only two blankets; Zuko was able to create his own heat and didn't require as many blankets in the cold night as the others.

"Katara you said you had plans for me." Zuko leaned casually against the doorframe to his room, one eyebrow raised. He wasn't very eager to find out what she wanted to do with him. She had the ability to be very devious.

"Did I? I don't remember that. Oh well!" Katara laughed at the frustrated expression on Zuko's face. Teasing him was the only way to guarantee that look appeared. Turning to walk past him and out the room, she was quickly intercepted by one of Zuko's strong arms around her waist. The exiled prince yanked her into him, trapping her in his embrace.

"You're lying." Zuko growled into her ear. "And if you don't have plans for me, than I have some for you."

The couple's lips met in a clash of fire and water. The cool tide of Katara's tongue met the flashing fire of Zuko's with eager excitement. Zuko pulled Katara into his room, letting the cape-door fall shut behind him. Pinning Katara against the wall, Zuko put his hands on either side of her head and let his lips roam across her cheek and up and down her neck. Nipping Katara's pulse point, Zuko made sure to leave a love bite. He wanted people to know that he was hers.

The sounds of Katara's light moans of pleasure absolutely drove the fire prince crazy. He had never felt so passionate and on fire before.

"Take off your dress Katara." He growled as his animalistic side started to take over. Katara quickly did as he said, letting her blue dress pool around her feet. Not about to let Zuko get away with being fully dressed while she was not, Katara quickly removed his shirt, moaning again as her hands roamed across his toned stomach and arms.

Katara took charge suddenly, shoving Zuko off of her and onto the bed. Laying over him, Katara covered her firebender's neck and chest in kisses, licks, and bites. Small groans of pleasure rumbled from Zuko's chest, his internal fire sparking at the sudden arousal.

Rolling over so he was on top, Zuko stared down at his waterbender. "Katara. I love you." He whispered to her, kissing her forehead lovingly.

"I love you too Zuko. I wanted to show you how much." Katara trailed off, sitting up slightly. Zuko realized what she was doing a second before it happened. Before he could stop her, Katara was lying completely nude under him, her hand trailing up his thigh to brush his hardened length.

"Katara are you sure?" Zuko asked, trying to stop himself from shivering in pleasure at his lady's touch. He wanted nothing more than to go as far as was possible but he was pretty sure Katara had never gone that far before.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." Katara whispered. "I love you Zuko. I want you to own that part of me."

"Thank you Katara. I promise you won't regret it." Zuko raised his eyebrows at Katara and gave her a wink. She laughed joyfully, glad that he was back to his old self. Outside the sun had reached its peak. The fiery blaze reflected perfectly in the still of the river, the fire and water melding perfectly in a union of complete opposites.


End file.
